Cole Custer, 16, makes NASCAR history with truck win

Custer, who at 16 years, 7 months, and 28 days old, blew away the field to win in only his seventh event in a truck. Custer became the youngest driver ever to win a NASCAR national series event.

“I’m speechless,” said Joe Shear Jr., Custer’s crew chief. “It’s amazing how quick he’s adapted and how good he is.”

Custer, pilot of the No. 00 Chevrolet Silverado, drove the strongest truck of the 30-vehicle group. Custer led 148 of 175 laps.

But with 30 to go, Custer found himself in an unfamiliar position: back in the pack.

On Lap 147, the yellow flag waved after JR Heffner spun out his truck. Custer, leading at the time, ducked onto pit road. Erik Jones stayed out to claim the lead.

Then when the No. 00 entered its stall, Shear called for four tires. Just about everybody else took two. By the time Custer pulled back onto the track, he was in seventh place, wondering whether enough laps remained for him to reclaim the top spot.

“When I looked up and we were putting our left sides on, everybody was leaving,” said Shear. “I was like, ‘Uh-oh.’ ”

In retrospect, it was the right call. Custer’s truck, strong to begin with, was even stouter with fresh rubber. After three more cautions, Custer had advanced to third place.

On the final restart, defending champion Matt Crafton was the lead truck. Crafton had started the race dead last because of an electrical problem discovered after qualifying. He only had to hang on for five more laps to complete the worst-to-first sprint.

But Crafton spun his wheels on the restart. He couldn’t get his truck in gear. By then, Custer had pulled ahead.

“I was able to get my timing down on the restarts,” Custer said. “The first one was OK. After that, I started really trying to time it right and get good runs down the straightaway. I could see where Matt was getting in the gas every time. I knew how to get a good run on him and hold off [Darrell Wallace Jr.] for the win.”

Jeff Gordon (second), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (fifth), Jimmie Johnson (eighth), and Kasey Kahne (11th) are among the top 12 drivers heading into Sunday’s race. The four pilots are confirming that Hendrick Motorsports is in good position to send at least several cars to the second round of the Chase.

“It’s great during the week to see our entire camp buzzing, knowing that all four cars are in the Chase and all the hard work that goes into it,” Johnson said. “There’s a small percentage of us here at the track competing against each other and have that, ‘Wow, we’re all in the Chase,’ to, ‘Man, I’ve got to beat these guys now?’ So there are a few of us that live in that competitive environment.”

Woody Pitkat won the Whelen Modified Tour’s F.W. Webb 100 on Saturday. Pitkat had to wait out a 20-minute red flag to chase the win.

A wreck halted the field on the next-to-last lap. The biggest damage happened when Ron Yuhas Jr. ran into the back of Timmy Solomito coming off Turn 2. The force of the collision launched Yuhas’s No. 64 Chevrolet into the fence. The car then landed on its hood.

A tow truck had to flip the car over before Yuhas was able to step out with assistance. Medical personnel placed Yuhas on a stretcher. Yuhas and Danny Watts Jr., who was also involved in the pileup, were transported to a local hospital.

On the green-white-checkered restart, Pitkat held off Todd Szegedy to score his second win of the season.

Greg Biffle, 15th out of 16 Chase drivers, spun his car in Saturday’s final practice coming off Turn 2. Biffle went into the grass and stayed off the wall. The right rear tire went flat, but Biffle avoided further damage. The No. 16 Ford will start on the 13th row on Sunday, which is not a good spot for a driver seeking points to advance to the Contender Round . . . Former Boston Bruin Brad Park will be in the pace car for the start of Sunday’s Sylvania 300.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto.